Following the Apostle Paul’s direction in the Pastoral Epistles (1Timothy 3, Titus 1) Presbyterian Churches are led by men elected from the congregation to serve the Church.  These leaders fall into two main classes: Elders and Deacons.  The Elders are the shepherds of the Church.  Togther they make up the ruling body of the Church which we call, “The Session.” They oversee the spiritual welfare of the people.  At present we have 3 elders (Pastor Stewart, Bill Smith, and Harry Brodmann).

The Deacons exist to protect the Elders from anything that might distract them from their main duties which are to labor in prayer and in the ministry of the word amidst the people (Acts 6).  Our deacons serve us by taking care of practical/physical aspects of our Church and its ministry: They oversee the Church budget, administer the poor fund, help the body with any pressing practical needs, and take care of the church building and grounds.

Pastors

Dr. Neil C. Stewart, Senior Pastor

Dr. Neil C Stewart, a native of Northern Ireland, has served as our Senior Pastor since the summer of 2006.

He is a 2002 graduate of the Master of Divinity program at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi. During his final two years at seminary, Pastor Stewart served as the Stated Student Supply Preacher at Bethesda Presbyterian Church, a small congregation in rural Mississippi. After graduation, he served for four years as the Senior Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City, Mississippi.

Before moving to America, he worked as a Senior House Officer at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. He studied medicine at the Queens University of Belfast (1990-1995), and was elected a member of the pediatric branch of the Royal College of Physicians in 1998. Neil and his wife, Catherine, are the happy parents of Hannah, Benjamin, Eleah, Josiah, and Samuel.

Stephen Sutherland, Pastoral Assistant

Stephen Sutherland serves as Pastoral Assistant for Family Life Ministry for the Kirk’s growing congregation.  The focus of the Family Life Ministry ia to encourage, support, and equip parents, particularly fathers, to pass on their Christian faith to the next generation within the structure of the family.  Stephen Sutherland is uniquely qualified to meet the challenges of this ministry having served as Director of Religious Studies at Ballycastle High School in Northern Ireland for seven years.  His theological training includes Bachelor of Theology (with Honors) from Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Master’s of Reformed Theology from Aberdeen University, Scotland.

Stephen, a native of Scotland, and his wife Ruth, a pediatrician, and their five children relocated from Northern Ireland in late October 2011 to assume his new position and take up their new residence in Savannah.